Guess Who's coming to Christmas Dinner?
by MeowthTwo
Summary: Summary: Bumblebee spends his first Christmas at the Witwicky’s However Decepticon activity means it’s not a normal Christmas.
1. Chapter 1

Guess Who's Coming To (Christmas) Dinner?

Disclaimer Transformers belong to Hasbro and the film to Paramount, I'm just playing in their Universe for a bit.

Rating: T

Author: Meowth2

Summary: Bumblebee spends his first Christmas at the Witwicky's

However Decepticon activity means it's not a normal Christmas.

It was Christmas morning, and a pallid wintry sunbeam filtered through the curtains of a certain house on a certain drive in Tranquillity, Nevada.

Sam Witwicky woke with the kid's Christmas natural early alarm clock, and started opening his bedroom present, when he heard a tap on his window. A stone thrown up by the wind? He listened again. No, definitely someone tapping. But he was on the second floor. Now, who did he know who could tap on the window two floors up? (And no, there wasn't a tree outside.)

"Bumblebee?"

"Sam?" came from outside.

"Hang on, Bee, let me open the windows." He shot out of bed, pulled back the curtains, and yes, there was the rounded yellow and silver blue-eyed face of his Autobot friend, who was also his Chevy Camaro.

"What the heck are you doing there?"

"There was a battle during the night.

"Was there? Oh yes, I remember. I thought it was a Christmas bad dream. Something shot over the house-"

"That was Starscream."

"a horrible face appeared at the window, I thought it was Jack Frost-"

"That was him too, he came back to taunt you."

"-Then there was a lot of shooting noises!"

"That was us."

"Why didn't you call me? Leaving me out!"

"I tried your mobile, all I got was your voicemail. I left a message."

"Oh no." Sam remembered his mobile had died yesterday, on getting dropped in the punch at Miles' Christmas Eve party.

"And I don't know what Miles put in that punch." groaned Sam. His head was still aching.

"I can guess from how I heard you singing coming home. Ratchet sent this."

Bumblebee handed Sam a packet through the window, and Sam recognised a proprietary hangover cure. He took two with the remainder of his tooth-cleaning water from the night before. They fizzed, and things became a bit more sharply into focus.

"Aah! Sam sighed as he drank it down in one gulp, then pulled a face at the taste.

"Oh yes!" Sam remembered. "Then something shot over the house like a bat out of Hell-"

"Starscream again."

"-then a reddish-bluish thing."

"That was Optimus."

"He can do that?"

"He has jets in his feet. We can all do that, but not for very high or very long. He jumped over your house, cannons blazing. So did I, and Ratchet. Ironhide saw him off, though."

"Where are they now?"

"They've gone off to a neighbouring city to investigate a possible sighting of Barricade. They left me here to guard you, because Starscream is still at large, and he might return."

"Well, you'll have to convert back to being a car for the moment. My parents will be up soon."

"That's just it Sam, I was damaged in the battle last night. Ratchet promised to fix it when he got back, but I can't transform."

"Okay, we can work round that." Then he paled.

"Oh shit, no we can't." Sam thumped his palm.

"This is Christmas day. Any other day I could skip lunch, arrange to meet Mikaela and we could creep off now. But they'll want me here for Christmas dinner and then Gran'll be here and want to see me open my presents - and she just won't understand you're harmless."

"I'm sorry Sam, but why not? I have great respect for aged or vulnerable female beings."

"No, she just doesn't understand anything new. She can't work a microwave, a DVD player or a mobile phone. But we'll work round it. We have to." He put his hands over his eyes.

"There must be a way."


	2. Breakfast with Bumblebee

Chapter 2. Breakfast with Bumblebee.

He did call Mikaela - via Bumblebee. Bee knew her number on her new phone so they called her and she came over on her new Vespa.

She found some more Christmas decorations in the shed and they made some contingency plans.

Breakfast was the full works-cookies, ham and eggs, pancakes with maple syrup, and hotcakes with peach sauce. Or grilled American cheese sandwiches and smores if you wanted something different. Sam's Mom maintained that Christmas was for the children and as he was their only son, to a large extent he could have whatever he wanted. After the third sandwich had come out of the pan (they asked for three things each time, except for the cookies, which came as a tray, and took one out to Bumblebee outside), Sam asked the all-important question: "Mom, can we have Christmas dinner outside? It's a nice day."

"Well, … I guess it saves me stuffing the turkey -"

"I don't see why not," said his Dad, who was very keen to try out his Christmas present of a Barbecue and show off his new lawn, path, patio and fountain to Mikaela, Miles, Judy's Mother and anyone else who turned up.

"I'll get the turkey" said Mikaela, rushing off to the chest freezer in the conservatory.

"Aaaaaaaaeeugh!" her loud piercing scream rang out a moment later.

(Smores are made with marshmallows sandwiched between two Graham crackers, or digestive biscuits, and melted in the microwave.)


	3. Chapter3:T and T

-1Chapter 3. Turkey and Tagliatelle

"Oh nononononono!"

Sam ran in her direction. He thought he knew what she'd found.

A few weeks ago he'd gone out with Bumblebee to the dump where they'd fought the battle with Barricade and Frenzy and Mikaela with the electric saw and the wrecking ball, and they'd picked up the remaining body of Frenzy. Sector 7 and the army had dealt with the All-Spark regenerated one and it had been thrown in the Laurentian trench with Megatron. He'd wrapped the body in a freezer bag and dumped it in the freezer labelled "Tagliatelle." He had been worried it would regenerate to terrorize Tranquility, and it was partly in revenge for what Sector 7 had done to Bumblebee.

"What did you put that in there for?" asked Mikaela. "Scared the crap outta me!"

"It's waiting for Ratchet or the army to salvage for spares. Freezing worked for Megatron."

There was a horrible face at the window again. This time it was Barricade.

He transformed and started ramming the fountain, the side of the porch, and the odd tree at the edge of the yard.

"Come for Round Two?" said Bumblebee.

Being already transformed, he had an advantage. He shot, then grabbed the Saleen Mustang and flipped him. Barricade transformed mid-turn and got between him and the house however.

"I've come for the body of my friend!" he called out.

"Get him, Bumblebee!" called Sam from behind the chest freezer.

"I'll batter the house down!" said Barricade, grabbing the porch roof.

"Not before I batter you!" challenged Bumblebee. He could have fired his laser point blank but had to grab Barricade's aft instead. He could not let him pull Sam's house down. This time he flipped the robot with an overhead roll throw.

"I believe that's Round two over." Mikaela peered out..

Barricade shot an inflatable Santa on the roof and it escaped part of its mooring.

"I've got to stop this," said Sam. "He'll wreck the neighbourhood,

not just my house. I can't wait till he finds out the telegraph wires tingle, everyone'll be without power over Christmas. Bring the Tagliatelle, Mikaela."

His mother was drying a white towel on the rack and he grabbed it to wave as a white flag. The glass was already out of one of the windows and he waved it frantically.

"Can't we negotiate?" he said.

Bumblebee was sitting on Barricade, but they both still had enough weapons trained on each other to make quite a mess, and Barricade was squeezing his ankles.

"Let me go!" cried Barricade.

"What's the magic word?" said Bumblebee aiming his cannon.

"He's my friend! You're with your friends. Give it to me and I'll go. Otherwise…" he clicked and pointed the multi -interrogation tool in his thumb.

Sam and Mikaela came up and stood behind the wrecked fountain. Sam folded his arms. Mikaela held the freezer bag of Frenzy.

"On one condition!" Sam called out "Christmas ceasefire!"

"What's that?" growled Barricade, an expression of true puzzlement on his ugly face.

"Give us a week of peace, till New Year. No attacks on humans or Autobots. And that goes for your big plane friend too!"

"I'll have to call in favours on Starscream. I'll tell him to stay on Mars."

"No, Mars is too near. Tell him to stay on one of Jupiter's moons!

Preferably out of the Solar System!"

"Or the galaxy!" suggested Mikaela.

"I could shoot that fountain!"

"Be my guest, say goodbye to your friend too!" said Sam.

Bumblebee started counting.

"Okay! But it'll take all the favours I got. I'll get my revenge later."

Bumblebee got off. Barricade transformed and opened the police car's doors. They threw the bag in.

"I hope it melts all over his seats!" Mikaela muttered darkly.

Barricade roared off down the drive cackling. The inflatable Santa fell squealing onto him and people thought he was a carnival float and threw nickels and dimes at him.

"Are you okay Bumblebee?" Sam rushed over to him, reminded a little of the battle with Megatron as the fountain collapsed a bit further like the statue he'd clung to.

"Nothing Ratchet can't fix. I can still stand." Bumblebee scanned his dents and crush injuries, then got to his knees, then his feet shakily.

"Have you called him? You don't have to stand all the time."

"Yes, I called for backup the minute the battle started, as it scotched the rumour that Barricade was in the next town. Unless he goes there."

"Surely he'll keep his promise?"

"He was playing on your feelings, Sam. He might, however. Let us hope he is occupied with reviving his friend."

Bumblebee went down on his hands and knees then sat down with his legs out in front of him. He felt down his legs to where they were crushed at the bottom near the foot. How long would this take to self -repair? Hopefully only an hour or so.

"Ankle injuries are terrible aren't they?" said Mikaela. "Let me have a look. Now let's see, ice -"

"I do not need ice."

"No, that's for humans, ice reduces the swelling. Things get hot when they swell up."

"Mine are hot, but I still do _not_ need ice." he insisted firmly.

"I'll check." She looked under the yellow metal casing. "Coolant lines seem intact - no, this is pressing on it." She prised something up and tightened something. Then she checked the other leg.

"Hey, no!" Bumblebee started to squeal then "oh that feels better!"

"I'll learn your technology yet!"

"It's more complicated than that!" Bumblebee muttered, along with something in Cybertronian. The auto-repair kicked in.

Sam fetched a big roll of turkey tinfoil, unrolled a bit and tied it around Bumblebee's lower left leg, securing it with string. "There!" Mikaela helped wrap the other one likewise. Then they unrolled a bit, gave it to him and he wrapped it round his shoulders like a space blanket. Sam retrieved the red and white car blanket that he'd dropped when he'd transformed and they draped it over Bumblebee's legs.

"Now I'll get the _real_ turkey to your Mom!" Mikaela dragged it out of the freezer and ran off.

"What does she mean?" Bumblebee asked Sam, who cracked up with laughter.

"We put tinfoil over a turkey and bacon on its legs then cook it in an oven. Butterball turkeys are yellow like you."

"So you're saying I look like a turkey? I see. But I don't need to go in an oven." Bumblebee said to show he got the joke.


	4. Chapter 4 Just desserts

Just Desserts

"Sam! Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Shit, that's Mom!" He grabbed a rake and raked over Barricade's tire tracks on the lawn. It didn't make that much difference, but it was something.

"Coming, Mom, Dad, I'm sorry about this!"

"Oh Sam, you couldn't help another earthquake!"

His Mom and Dad and Mojo came out of the house, Mojo barking wildly and jumping up at him to lick his face. His Mom hugged him.

"Oh no look at the yard - I don't know why I bother" said his Dad. "I just got it all nice again."

"I'll pay for it, Dad."

"No they're getting to know me at B and Q, they give me discounts- Hey?"

Sam followed his parents' eyes up to those of his Autobot friend.

"Where did you come from?" said Ron.

"Outer space?" said Judy.

"Yes." affirmed Bumblebee.

"Mom, Dad, this my friend Bumblebee, you remember the newsreels, he was there at Mission City, fighting with the Army. He helped save us."

"Always ready to help the U. S. government." Ron extended a hand. Bumblebee extended a finger and they shook. He played "The Star Spangled Banner." It wasn't quite right, but he didn't think they' d understand a Cybertronian national song.

"He can help choose the Christmas music. Not just play it, you're a person, not a stereo. You're a guest." said Judy.

"Thank you, Mrs Witwicky. It's no bother." said Bumblebee, "I can easily find them on the radio." He played "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," at the end of the anthem.

Mojo recognised a lap when he saw one and leapt onto Bumblebee and lay down. The blanket smelt right and Sam joined him, so he was happy.

"Sam, where's the car? It's okay, isn't it? I mean -" This time

Ron followed Sam's eyes to Bumblebee's.

"You mean- you've got the same markings - you're Sam's car?"

"It's my disguise. Yes that's right, and I'm okay, thank you, Mr Witwicky." Bumblebee remembered that humans used this sort of term loosely.

"As well as can be expected after the fight. With another car-robot."

"Dad, you catch on quick. How did you know?"

"Ground-up earth's a dead giveaway. I see two sets of tread marks." Sam realized his raking hadn't covered them all. "And I heard two voices. Colombo's got nothing on me." Sam realized this was a detective from his parent's era.

"So when you said your car stood up…."

Sam folded his arms. "I was telling the truth, Dad."

"You seemed pretty shocked. So one of the bad guys came back."

"Uh-huh." said Sam as Bumblebee nodded. "He was wrecking the house." He looked at the place where Barricade had hit it.

"Thank you for defending our home." Ron saluted Bumblebee. "What regiment are you with?" He looked at the badge.

"Autobots." Bumblebee pointed at it, then put his finger over his microphone.

Ron tapped his nose to show he'd keep the secret. "So that was what the Non-Disclosure Agreement was about. As long as you're not with the men in black, that Sector 7 lot."

"No way!" Bumblebee shook his head and spread out his hands, shaking them against the very suggestion.

"This calls for chocolate!" Judy went in and got the chocolate fountain she'd been given for Christmas. She plugged it in at the garage outlet. Ron went and got the barbecue and set it up.

"You're welcome to stay for dinner," he called, addressing Bumblebee again.

He took in the wrapped feet, the scratched paintwork, the stressed metal. "You sure you can be a car again and everything? I'd better call the 24/7 garage - oh no not today!" He slapped his forehead.

"Hey Dad, really, everything's gonna be fine," Sam spread out his hands in the "calm down" gesture. "We know where to go, and I'll fill you in on anything else you need to know over dinner. We've even worked things out for Gran coming over later."

"That hurts?," said Judy, looking at Bumblebee's legs, then his face.

Bumblebee nodded.

"Sam, come off him."

" You need to get ready."

Sam had been coming off Bumblebee anyway and slid down his leg.

"I'll give you a brief wash before dinner. I've gotta get washed and changed too." he told him. Bumblebee gave everyone the thumbs up with both hands.

"Thank you for your concern, Ma'am, Mr Witwicky, Sam, I'm O. K."

Sam was glad they'd accepted his friend's sentience like this but realized that a day like this would be hard for someone who spent most of their time in disguise. Bumblebee was embarrassed. He stroked him as he left.

Mikaela came out round the house with a loaded tray.

"I've got the joints here all foiled up, who wants Southern fried coating, who wants hot dogs, bacon, mayo, Ranch dressing?"

Corn cobs and bread, relish, jacket potatoes and vegetable kebabs with pieces of squash were also prepared. Sam's Dad took charge of the barbecue.

Sam came back with a bucket of hot soapy water and a big sponge and washed Bumblebee, as far as he could reach, then gave Mikaela a chance at it while he helped his parents. They threw the last of the warm water over each other and went in to change. Mikaela had left some extra clothes over there for any eventuality and they needed an extra layer as it was getting cold.

Miles arrived, looking remarkably sober and bearing a present. Sam ripped it open.

"Hey, Miles bro' , that's awesome!"

"So, everyone gets car-cleaning kits for Christmas!"

"Yes but how did you know the right type of oil to get? That's Bee's favourite!"

Miles indicated Mikaela with a thumb.

"She took me down the garage as soon as I got my cash!"

"Makes a change from socks and boxers!" Sam showed it to Bumblebee, who clapped.

"Yo, Bumblebee, Mr alien, we come in peace, man!" Miles stuck up the first two fingers of each hand spread in the peace sign.

Bumblebee responded in kind.

"Hi there, Miles!"

Miles had been introduced to Bumblebee before, had had to be as he was their primary transport, but he was still nervous. He also knew transformation meant danger and looked round warily.

"We in trouble, man? Has the Invasion started? Alien foes in the skies?"

"On the ground, actually. We _were _in trouble. He dealt with it."

He held one arm across his chest, cupped it and stuck the other hand out to indicate Bumblebee. "We're cool now. Ev'rything's okay"

"Sam and Mikaela helped. They negotiated a ceasefire." said Bumblebee.

Miles stood catching flies, eyes and mouth wide in awe and respect as he stared at his friend and his girlfriend. Sam had to remind him by pushing at his own chin and pointing at his eyes, again putting a finger across his lips for silence. Miles surveyed Bumblebee's legs.

"No shoot to kill? Good."

He engaged excited teen at Christmas mode again, indicating his bike.

"I've joined the big wheel fraternity. Junker car next year."

"Beats being pulled along by Mason on Rollerblades like you were last Christmas!" Sam said.

Sam and Mikaela had a present for Miles too. It was a skateboard painted with flames like Optimus's.

"Your friends do great paint jobs. Can you do my surfboard the same in time for summer?"

"Sure," said Mikaela "Ratchet'll be happy to do it."

"Providing we get him some more fuel and spare parts like last time" Sam whispered quietly to her.

Mikaela's present to Sam was a mini candy vending machine.

"Big present to-night!" she said smiling cheekily as she handed it over. He kissed her. Then dinner started, with a portion of everything saved back for Sam's Gran when she came.

Dessert was apple pie and ice cream or cheesecake, Christmas cake and a traditional English Christmas pudding. Then they were allowed to each chose a frosted Christmas cookie from the Christmas tree. Sam chose a Christmas tree, Mikaela a snowman and Miles a Reindeer. Bumblebee chose a sleigh, via Sam as he could not get in the house, and they carefully removed the string for him. Drinks were mulled wine for the adults and chocolate malts with marshmallows for the kids.


	5. Chapter 5 Tinsel and Halos

Chapter 5 Tinsel and Halos

Sam's big present from his parents under the tree was an X-box 360(not alive, they checked) and the game Halo 3.

"Now you can fight giant robots," said his Dad.

"Big deal! Doesn't he think I get enough of that in real life?" said Sam, rushing to show it to Mikaela and Miles then putting it up in his bedroom by his computer because it did not seem right to be ensconced in his room playing a computer game today.

Instead they played Transformers Risk on Bumblebee's lap (Sam moved his counter for him). He won.

Then Miles gave all the neighbourhood news and sports results to Sam's Mom whilst helping to dry up. Sam and Mikaela decorated Bumblebee with a tinsel halo and two sheets plus tinsel along his door-wings and he now felt okay to stand up.

A portion of dessert had been saved back for Sam's Grandma and when she came, having spent the morning with his aunt and Uncle Charles, she complimented them on the nice lighted Christmas ornament in the yard, shining a light up to the sky.

"It looks just like an angel" she said.

"Yes, he's my Guardian angel," said Sam, smiling secretively at Mikaela. He was glad there were parts of his new special secret life that his parents and others either did not know or chose to ignore.

For now they went in with her and she settled down with his parents to enjoy the Christmas evening TV, eating her turkey and dessert as a TV dinner. Sam opened the rest of his presents: she'd brought him aftershave, antifreeze and a scraper for the windscreen.

"There's an Ambulance just going down the drive," said Judy looking out of the curtains as she was closing them while Ron fixed drinks for everyone. "Oh dear. Always someone in trouble over the holidays."

Sam looked out of the window and rose.

"Can Mikaela and I go out tonight?"

"We said we'd meet some friends," said Mikaela going to the window and waving out.

"Eh? Ok: you kids go out and enjoy yourselves," said Ron, peeling off and handing over a few greenbacks from a billfold. "It's Christmas after all. I hear there's a school Disco at Deano's Maltshop Café."

"School Disco nothing! This far more important - and fun!" muttered Sam to Mikaela as they escaped, and a truck horn sounded outside.

"Oh, a truck driver's got lost and they're using the vacant lot down the drive to turn round in," said his Mom.

Sam smiled as he helped Mikaela into her down jacket and they left the house. If only she knew…


	6. Chapter 6 The Party

Chapter 6 The Party

Optimus did not need to come there to turn round, he could have done a U-turn in the street, but it was a good reason to come to the Witwicky drive. He went a bit further down then turned round and came back.

When they got out Ratchet had already transformed, as it was deserted enough, and was aiming micro-laser beams at Bumblebee.

"Sorry to leave you in the lurch, scout, but we had to scotch that rumour!".

"Yeah, Barricade obviously wasn't in a neighbouring city as he turned up here to fight me!"

"Well, you seem to have beaten him off," said Ratchet. "Starscream turned up again where we were, but they called out the Air Force again and he scarpered."

"It seems that for matters of National Security, fighter pilots will scramble even on Christmas day," said Optimus Prime.

"That's our flyers for you." said Sam, coming up. "Oh, hi Optimus." The big 'bot had transformed and flattened himself against the house, with Ironhide, as he had when he had first called there.

"It's okay they're all watching T.V. , full of turkey and mulled wine," said Mikaela. "At least you didn't cause the mess this time."

"Fraggit, I can't fix the transformation circuit without more spare parts, you'll have to ride on Ironhide," said Ratchet. "O.K. Sam, has your Dad got a tow rope?"

"Yes, but it's not a tow -"

"He' ll at least need a seat belt!"

So they strapped Bumblebee on Ironhide, in vehicle form, Ratchet and Optimus helping.

"Sam, Mikaela, in my cab, message coming through!" said Ironhide.

"Why isn't it coming via Optimus?"

"Because it's from Will. Don't worry, he's gettin' it!"

The little weather/time screen on the dash transformed and there he was.

"This is Captain Lennox speaking. Hi, Sam, Mikaela, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Ratchet. I'll make this short. You know the attack on SOCCENT base and with Scorponok?"

"We most certainly do!" intoned Optimus.

"You weren't there -"

"It was however widely reported on the World Wide Web."

"And the battle at Mission City"

"Can't forget that one."

"Well, I got home to be with my family and friends. A lot of families were not so lucky. An awful lot of children lost fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins … and then they saw you on the newsreels, here, fighting beside us."

"Yes. We would fight again to protect your freedom."

"Well it would make their day if they could just see you - if you'd come-"

"We would be honoured."

"I knew you'd stand up! To give out presents."

"Presents?"

"No, we've got the presents. You just come."

"Come where?"

"To a Forces family Christmas party at the Hoover Dam Hangar Base, at 1900 hours tonight."

"Certainly. We're on our way."

Optimus and Ratchet, who had been listening in the cab windows, and via their own receivers, transformed.


	7. Chapter 7 Snow

\/p>

Chapter 7 Snow

"Hey one moment , can we ride with Bumblebee?" said Sam.

Ironhide checked with Optimus. Then:

"Sorry kids, no can do, we're on the Highway here, you stay inside. Besides, you do not have an Iron-hide like I have and I won't take responsibility for your safety otherwise."

"Can we go in the back then?" said Mikaela.

They went round to the back of the black Topkick and he let them in.

Mikaela looked up to the sky.

"Transformers: Rollout!" called Optimus via the radio.

They moved out in convoy, Ironhide bringing up the rear.

"Hey it's snowing!" exclaimed Mikaela.

"Its wonderful!" cried Bumblebee in awe. Then, a few seconds later:

"Oh boy but it's cold!"

"Aw, it's only a little snow, it's considered good to snow at Christmas.

And there's a robin singing in a tree…," said Mikaela.

"It may be good for you, but it's melting and going under my plating, and it'll be icy and slushy later, and I'm the one who'll be sliding about with a muddy chassis…"

Bumblebee had already seen snow that Winter, he had not lost the wonder at it, he had joined the teens in building snow transformers and everyone had joined in a snowball fight, but then had come the disenchantment with the havoc on the roads and the drifting…

"And I'll have to sweep and shovel the drive," groaned Sam.

They moved out onto the Freeway.

"Gee, I should've told Mr Stumke next door, after he'd been to church, to cover up his Porsche's windscreen with newspaper!" Sam facepalmed.

"You didn't know it was going to freeze," consoled Mikaela.

"It's all right for you Truck-built vehicles, you're higher off the road than me, you don't have so much snow damage." Said Bumblebee.

"You're still more out of the way of the mud and ice and slush up there

than we are down here," Ironhide came back with.

Mikaela was still looking up.

"Hey, there's a falling star, let's make a wish!" She clutched Sam's hand.

"Bumblebee, stop whinging and shine the light!" called Ironhide. 

Bumblebee swung up his Autobot symbol torch with his right arm.

"Hey, any Decepticon will see him and us with that!" Sam, catching sight of it, hid under Will's car blanket in the back.

"There's another! And another, we can have three wishes! There's another two! Hey, we can get comets named after us, there's two new

Christmas stars!" said Mikaela.

"Come under the blanket with me, it could be Starscream or other Decepticons!" came Sam's muffled voice.

"Starscream wouldn't show lights, he probably even blocks radar!"

"Sorry, Sam, I'm under orders!" Bumblebee called down.

"No Sam, the signal's Autobot!" called Ironhide.

Sam peered out sheepishly grinning.

Mikaela snuggled under the blanket with Sam.

"Hey, Epps has left his camera under here!" she said.

Then she peered out the back window through the lenses.

"Hey, it's got Nightsight! And Zoom!" She activated them.

Sam saw some white blue and red lights coming up behind them.

And a siren, but then that shut off.

"Oh no, it's the cops!"

"We're not doing anything illegal, we're taking a Christmas decoration to a children's party!" countered Mikaela.

"What if they think it's too long a load?"

" Oh no what if it's -" Sam's face went white, or through the camera lenses a darker pale shape with white holes. She took it down.

"It's not the same one Sam, it's an Impala, not a Mustang Saleen."

"What's the difference?"

"More white than black."

"But the disguise can change, Bumblebee -"

"Is up there in plain sight, with that symbol torch, and not one shot-"

She brought the lenses up for magnification again. "Besides, I can see what it says on the side, I saw it swerve just now, it says

'To protect and serve.' 

And that's not the State badge, it's not pointy, it's even flatter and more rounded than the County Shield-"

"You mean… Let's have a look"

(Starscream's alt. form, the F22 jet, has almost no radar signature).

They both looked from the camera sights to the landing symbol in the sky above. 

"They're on our side. Woohoo!" they hugged each other.

The horn sounded once :then, on the semi-deserted Freeway, it played "Glory Glory Halleloo-yah!"

This seemed to be a pre-arranged signal. The convoy pulled over to the hard shoulder and came to a halt. Optimus played the first line of the Battle Hymn of the Republic "Mine eyes have seen the glory…." followed by Ratchet doing the second line of the verse, and Ironhide the third. Mikaela sang along with the last line she remembered from July 4th:

"Let us live to make men Free!" 

It seemed a very Autobot sentiment.

Bumblebee finished it off.

"……… marching on!"

"Hi Prowl, Did you have a good landing?"

"It was okay."

The headlights of the police car dipped, blinked and flashed.

Then Mikaela said:

"Look, the left headlight isn't working. Oh no, now it is."

She realized the police car was _winking_ at them. This is hard for cars as headlights work in unison but not impossible for Transformers. This was a show for the drivers of the odd human vehicles speeding by. 

A police officer got out, flickering ever so slightly: she realized he was a hologram. He stood beside the Impala, displaying a black case with a badge that _was_ the county shield of Nevada. She tapped the door lightly and they were let out.

Holograms turned round and leaned out of every cab. Optimus had a truck driver with a wide-brimmed hat, flame patterned shirt and levis, Ratchet had a Paramedic, Ironhide had a middle-aged guy in a blue denim top and jeans with a military haircut in silver and black. He shouted:

"Officer, what seems to be the trouble?"

"Hi guys, the off rear light of this SUV seems to have gone."

They realized that Ironhide was winking back.

"No, it's all right now."

"He's with us!" Shouted Optimus's hologram.

"Are you?"

"Yes!" Boomed Ironhide.

"What is your destination?" He got out a little black e-book and stylus.

"A Forces' Family Christmas Party in Hangar two at the Hoover dam."

"I will accompany you."

"Thank you, Officer."

The noise of the traffic quietened down as the last car sped by. Only Sam and Mikaela heard the next comments at normal voice level, Optimus 's deep bass tone and Prowl's baritone:

"Welcome to Earth, Prowl"

"Your party, Leader Prime."

Prowl did one more thing via his hologram: he looked up at Bumblebee and held the book and stylus up. There was a whirring noise: Sam realised Bumblebee was being scanned, just for appraisal, not in a bad way. He ducked his head, remembering with embarrassment how Ratchet had first scanned him and Mikaela. Then, with a nod at Ratchet's hologram and an answering nod back, he was done. They got back in, doors slammed and they moved out back onto the Freeway.

The convoy arrived at the Hoover dam base with a police escort.

\/p> 


	8. Chapter 8Starscream's 4th missile

Chapter 8 Starscream's 4th Missile

"Eyes-right!" said 0ptimus.

There was a welcoming committee.

Secdef Keller, Tom Banacek and Simmons were there in uniform.

There was also a set of "top brass" from all the services.

They saluted and there were cheers from all the other troops(Army, Air force, Army Air Corps, Marines, and Special Ops., and M.P. s, and the Navy as they'd joined in sinking Megatron) as the Autobots rolled in.

Technical Sgt. Epps was manning the gate and he and Captain Will Lennox helped Sam and Mikaela down and helped take ropes off Bumblebee, who got down by himself. Mikaela returned the camera (Thermal Imaging Device) saying:

"Four pictures and not a Decepticon among 'em!"

"Thanks" said Epps.

"Autobots: Transform!" called Optimus Prime.

The police car transformed into a black and white robot with two diagonal red horns on his head.

"Meet my Security and Tactical Officer, Prowl!"

"Reporting for duty, Sir!" He replied saluting.

Simmons saluted and SecDef Keller, recognising someone in the same line of work as him, not only saluted but said "Welcome to the United States!"

The troops gave him an extra cheer: to them an extra Autobot, even if he wasn't a flyer, could only be a good thing.

A little girl came out of the crowd of troops, directed towards Optimus, carrying something silvery in her hands. It was a cardboard cube covered in silver paint with black letters and grey lines on it.

"It's an Allspark. 'Cos you lost yours," she said, and waved at SecDef Keller. "Grandpa helped me paint the signs."

"Thank you, youngling" said Optimus, going down to her level and adding quietly "Would that it were!" He indicated to Bumblebee to take it, murmuring "Don't crush it, she believes in it." Bumblebee put out a yellow hand at ground level and she dropped the cube into it. He nodded and put his thumb on it to steady it, then stood up holding it carefully.

"Thought you were going to be with your family, Will," said Ironhide.

"I am. They're here. Sarah wouldn't miss this for the world. Annabel's asleep in my quarters. Breakfast and Lunch are more important to babies. She knows me enough for 2 aeroplane meals."

"Aeroplane?" asked Ironhide.

"'Plane shaped spoon coming in to land in baby's mouth," he demonstrated with a hand. "And it's a cross-wing, not a delta-wing. I'm teaching her not to like Starscream from a young age."

"Very wise," said Optimus.

"We've got a present for you ," said SecDef Keller as they all went into Hangar 1(except for a guard who stayed on the gate.).

"For me?" Optimus sounded touched.

"From the President, to the Autobots. It's there." He pointed. Wreathed in tinsel, with a very official-looking gift tag on it, and cabled up to a portable generator, was the All Spark Energy Testing Chamber.

"They decided to give it up?" asked Will.

"There's a back-up one," said Simmons. "You think the U. S. Government would give up anything without a back-up? It's linked to a secret location near the Energy pool under L.A."

"But there might be a bit of energy left in that one," said SecDef Keller.

"We are grateful. We will help you guard it." said Optimus. "Ratchet, you take charge of this one! I think you'll know what to do with it."

"Oh yes!" said Ratchet pointing an index finger, "One Resuscitation unit coming right up! Come on, Bumblebee, and I better check you over, Prowl, you can get debriefed with Optimus later."

"Yes Sir!" Prowl picked up the portable generator and put a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder as Ratchet picked up the Energy Testing chamber.

"Coming, Ratchet," called Bumblebee and looked for Sam. "Sam, Mikaela, stay with Optimus and I'll see you after my transformation circuit is fixed!" He put the model AllSpark up near his chest.

"So long!" called Mikaela, waving.

"Thanks pal, see you later!" called Sam, waving as well. He was glad Bumblebee had remembered. He had bad memories of being separated from him in this place. Still, at least this time Simmons was striding off ahead of them with the other dignitaries seemingly unconcerned with them.

Ratchet and the other 2 Autobots went off down a corridor to the makeshift MedBay - it had a green cross and 2 twisted snakes on the door. Someone had also labelled it "The Pit."

"This must refer to an Earth racing or Motor repair Bay, not Cybertron" he said tearing it off. "I do not run a Decepticon Harvesting Cesspool!" and he screwed up the paper label and kicked it into a corner.

"Hold it!" He put out his one free hand. The others stopped and looked at him.

"Don't worry, Bumblebee, its safe."

"What do you mean, Ratchet?"

"I've scanned it. You can too. Beyond this door, the whole complex.

All the cryogenic storage and freezing equipment is shut down."

Optimus looked down at Sam and Mikaela, smiling.

Ironhide looked at Will and Epps in the same way. Then Will heard a soldier coming down the corridor shouting for him.

"Parcel for Captain Lennox!" He handed it over and they saluted, then he left and Will undid it.

"Ah, these are for you, Optimus." he said, getting out a red and white parachute cloak and a big white curly beard.

"We want you to dress as Santa Claus to give out the presents."

"Do I just give them out to the children?" he said as he put the things on, with Ironhide's help.

"We've made a large reinforced chair you can sit in, and we can lift them up on your knee and you ask them what they want for Christmas." said Will.

"What if I can't give them it?" Optimus was worried that the most likely request would be "Daddy home."

"There will be a sack of wrapped presents, labelled 'Boy' or 'Girl' beside you. At least a child will get a present they wouldn't get otherwise." said Will.

"I suppose a little child's request would be simple." said Optimus.

"I want Starscream's 4th missile!" A child's clear voice rang out from behind the door of Hangar 2.

"As Christmas present demands go, that one's pretty impressive!"

Sam said.


	9. Chapter 9 Fairies and Elves

-9 Fairies and Elves

There was a peep-hole in the metal door. Optimus bent down, pulled the little metal door aside, and peered through.

A child was aiming a big plastic gun at another child with a similar one.

"My Optimus Barrel Roll Blaster's only got 3 darts and your Starscream one's got 4! S'not fair! Hand one dart over!"

"O.K." The cornered kid handed one over. "But now you're bound to win with an extra shot."

"No." The first kid threw the yellow dart into a corner. "Fight's fair now. Come on!"

And they went off firing plastic darts at each other, dodging behind storage boxes.

"He would make a fine Autobot soldier when he grows up," said Optimus, relating the story to the others.

"They'll probably retrieve the dart and swap sides in five minutes," said Sam "Human children always do in games. S'not fun to always be on the same side."

"Decepticons never fight fair!" said Ironhide. "Hey! What's with all this Tinsel?"

Some soldiers had come up on vehicles with ladders and had started to wrap it around his cannons. "If I have to fire these, I'll have sparks all over me!"

"Hopefully we shouldn't have any trouble." Sam said and told them about that morning's bargain with Barricade.

"Well, let's get in, it feels like my fuel lines're freezing!" said Ironhide.

So in they went. Optimus went and sat in the giant chair and children started lining up. Then sleigh music started playing as Bumblebee and Ratchet returned.

In came a white and blue racing car with a giant sack pulled with red ropes by two 'bots with reindeer horns and red noses. One was the black and white 'bot they'd just been introduced to: the other was silver with a cool blue visor.

"How d'you like my disguise?" he said.

"It's da business!" said Mikaela giving him the thumbs up sign.

"Welcome back Jazz!" said Optimus.

"Hi Mirage!" The blue and white racing car disappeared and then a blue and white 'bot stood by his side holding the sack. This one put on a reddish brown beard and long hat.

Everyone cheered Jazz. Optimus hugged him and started giving the presents out.

They had given Ratchet a little green hat.

"Are you an elf?" a little girl asked.

Ironhide cracked up with laughter.

"Hah hah, you an elf Ratch, that's rich! That's better than me being the tooth fairy that is!"

"I do not mind being compared to an elf." Ratchet said folding his arms. "In folklore elves for the most part are helpful, honourable beings, lovers of music, practising woodcraft for healing and tracking as their Science, calling it Magic. They are either depicted as taller or shorter than humans and are superior in senses."

"Don't tell them there's a colony of them on Rigel 4 along with the Greens and the Greys!" chortled Ironhide.

"He is not an elf!"

A young boy jumped in to put her straight.

"That is Ratchet, and he changes into a Hummer Search and Rescue vehicle. He fires a circular saw and is the Medical Officer."

He pointed at Ironhide.

"That is Ironhide. He transforms into a black pickup SUV truck and is a Weapons Specialist."

"And that is Optimus Prime!" he pointed at Optimus, "he changes into a Peterbilt Semi-truck and is the leader of the Autobots!"

As everyone else stared open-mouthed at the child Sam gave a laugh.

"_That_" said Sam, "is a _fan!_"


	10. Chapter 10 Face to face

Chapter 10 Face to Face

Chapter 10 Face to Face.

"I think our cover's blown guys!" said Optimus, taking off his beard.

"Does that mean we can take off these decorations?" said Bumblebee, who was still dressed up from that morning, though Ratchet had taken the tinfoil off his legs as they'd self-repaired now.

"Yes," Optimus sighed, "take off the decorations. And the hats and stuff. We're just helping Santa out."

Bumblebee did a little dance and played air guitar.

So the Fire crews came in and helped take off the decorations. Mirage and Ratchet took off their hats and Mirage took his beard off, but Ironhide and Bumblebee needed some help from the humans with their little hands. Ironhide was glad to get the last of the tinsel off his arms and held them out, but Bumblebee shied away when they came up behind him with the siren going. Sam and Mikaela ran over.

"He's my car, let me go up the ladder! Stay cool, Bumblebee, they're only trying to help!" cried Sam running over to the green Fire Engine.

"It's rather a high ladder, son" said one of the soldiers doubtfully.

"Let him up, he'll be okay," called Will to him "They learn to climb ladders at school these days. He's okay with heights."

"Yeah I've climbed higher than this," said Sam ruefully, remembering climbing away from Megatron. "Here Bee, give me your hand, let me get the end of that tinsel round your doors…now turn right side on to me, that's it… it's coming off…."

"I see, you put the siren on for fun." Bumblebee said, "Like Prowl does sometimes."

"Like Prowl does not often enough!" commented Jazz.

"Well, yes," said the Fire Chief, "but also to warn people to get out of the way. You see, we haven't a horn. People get used to sirens."

"At least it wasn't used to frighten," said Sam remembering another earlier Decepticon attack. "Now put your hand down, turn your back to me and I'll get it off your other door…that's it."

"I could've lifted you up Sam," said Bumblebee, still slightly puzzled.

"Yeah but I need a fixed point _off _you to get _this_ off you," said Sam, reaching up for the halo. Bumblebee cottoned onto this a bit more easily, and putting up both his hands, got it off his antennae projections.

Sam was glad the ladder had high sides and he had to keep looking up at Bumblebee's face and concentrating on what he was doing to be sure that he _was _okay this high up.

Mikaela came up behind him and the Fire Chief came up behind her. "Let me get those sheets off your doors, Bumblebee. Your Mum'll want'em back Sam."

"Yeah, she won't notice for a few days, then she'll ream me out and say 'You can't have a sheet for your car, they're for beds, I've got to wash them now!'"

"Poor Bumblebee, I'll get you an All-weather cover." said Mikaela.

Optimus was all right getting off his parachute cloak himself,

losing his head in it and peeping out playfully at the children, laughing as he came out.

The kids still got presents, but one said "I don't want a Furby, I wanna hear you give the command!"

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. Anyone want rides?"

Optimus asked. A forest of hands went up.

"Autobots: Transform!" he ordered.

They all transformed. Sam and Mikaela got in Bumblebee with the kid, and a responsible adult went with them in every Autobot, even if it was a hologram for the over10s, youngest kids first.

Freedom didn't mean compromising anyone's safety.

They were joined by two late arrivals, Hound, an army green 'bot who transformed into an army jeep with a big projection unit on the top, and Cliffjumper, a red mech with a jet pack device who transformed into a red car towing an equipment trailer. Optimus called out their names and welcomed them as they came in.

Half an hour was allowed for rides, then they brought in the food and crackers. Glen and Maggie helped bring in trays of sandwiches, sub rolls, hot dogs, pretzels, date fondants, doughnuts, cakes, Oreo and Christmas cookies, brownies, granola bars, Muffins, Mince pies and fruit. And all kinds of kid's drinks including Mountain Dew were brought in on a trolley by Dewbot.

Then they played transformer's Risk again, short game, and this time Will won, with Optimus.

Then the younger children went to bed as it was 8.

"Bumblebee! Recharge!" said Ratchet.

"It seems some of us have got to go to bed early too" said Bumblebee to some of the kids who were groaning about it.

Sam ran after them and caught them up in the corridor by the Medbay.

"See you in the morning, pal!" he said, sticking his hand out.

Bumblebee knelt and put a hand out for him to climb onto. " Sam. Do I have to Ratchet?"

"Yes, because you've been flipping Barricade and he's been flipping you. It's only for an hour, Sam. Then I can give him a last check out and he should be back with you for the teen party at half nine and to take you home later."

Sam held Bumblebee's finger and said "See you later then!"

Turning, going up the corridor he found Mikaela behind him.

"Back in one hour!" He held up one finger to her.

"Great!" she said, grabbed the finger and lead him back to the party.

The older ones stayed up for drinks nibbles music, dancing and charades.Sam's Mom called him on his cell phone to check he was O.K. then.

"How'm I going to tell my parents if this goes on way past midnight?"

Will heard him and came over. "It won't'. It ends at midnight. You'll get an escort home then.

I am authorized to offer you the use of a set of married quarters or you can come and freshen up in ours. Sarah won't mind. Annabel's asleep and we're not going back till tomorrow."

"I think we may as well come with you now, it's been rather a heavy day. O. K. Mikaela?"

"Yes, I'd like to freshen up" said Mikaela.

"There's something I have to show you first," Will said, and took them to a room where the walls were covered in brass plaques. There was another room with benches and a stained glass patterned window off it.

"These are all the servicemen and women who lost their lives in the SOCCENT attack, and Scorponok's and Mission City." He took them over to a certain area of wall.

"These were the men in my patrol."

He looked at the names and dates of Zack Donnelly and Jorge Figueroa in silence and remembered them.

"So you take care of yourself, Sam Witwicky, and you Mikaela, 'cos

I don't want to see your names on little brass plaques like this."

"We'll be careful," Sam said.

"Sure, we'll keep a lookout." said Mikaela.

Bumblebee was waiting for them outside the room.

"How did you find me?" Will asked.

"Ironhide put a homing device on you at the party."

"He did? The cheeky so and so! I'll get Sarah on him for this!"

"He only cares about you, Will. As I care about Sam and Mikaela."

Then they had showers and used the bathroom in his quarters and borrowed some more clothes. Sam let Mikaela have hers first and when he came out dressed in the new clothes he found she'd been taken off by Ratchet, so he set out to track her down with Bumblebee.


	11. Chapter 11 Public Service Announcement

-1Public Service Announcement

"I've a special secret mission for you, Mikaela," said Ratchet, "and I'm prepared to come round and teach you extra mechanics every day next week in return for it. Just meet me in that hangar over there." He transformed and shot off to it.

Mikaela went in.

"You know how some kids get a bike for Christmas?"

In front of her was a large purple motorbike.

"Oh Ratchet, you shouldn't have!"

"Oh yes I should!"

The motorcycle transformed into a beautiful female robot with blue optics and silver hair.

"Meet Arcee. Would you take her home? She hunts down Decepticons fearlessly and knew Bumblebee back on Cybertron." said Ratchet.

"Oh? Perhaps you could tell me about it later."

Mikaela was surprised at how jealous this made her feel.

The femme-bot guessed it however.

"We were just friends. Soldiers fighting together. Child soldiers really. We're about your age relatively now."

Mikaela felt her animosity melting away.

"I don't want to cause friction between you. Perhaps I should stay here", Arcee said.

"No, you can come. Any friend of Bumblebee's is a friend of mine." She shook hands with Arcee, for the hangar seemed cold and empty to her and she would not have wanted to spend Christmas with a band of male soldiers, even if one was her friend.

"No-one should be alone for Christmas."

"Can we watch the Boxing Day Moto- cross on your T.V.?"

"Ok, that'll be all right. Is it O.K. if we go to Dad's garage for that? He's got a T. V. there." She realized she hadn't really planned much for the next day. She had found a kindred soul.

"Yes."

"That's settled then!" Ratchet said. "By the way, I found this on Bumblebee when I was changing the transformation circuit. You have it."

Mikaela pocketed the little Christmas decoration with hardly a thought. She hadn't put it on him, Sam's Mom must have.

"Is it all right if I go home with Sam in Bumblebee tonight?"

"Sure, I've got my hologram!"

Arcee folded down and a leather clad biker appeared.

"Excuse me, I think that was Ironhide calling me" said Ratchet,

also folding down and taking off out of the hangar.

She looked after him and came out at some human noise.

Some of the older children had made a slide on the ice and were shouting and sliding on it.

"Hey, a slide, can I have a go?" said Mikaela.

She ran up and took off sideways, balancing herself with her arms.

The kids were cheering, but then she realized she was going to crash into a red off-the-road vehicle - '_what was that doing in an army base?' _she wondered.

She screamed as she lost her footing and landed on one hand.

The vehicle transformed and she was caught as with a catcher's glove in one red hand that felt like a car seat.

"Hello, I'm Cliffjumper," said the red robot "and it's a good job I wasn't an Earth vehicle, because that would've hurt!"

"How did you that?" she asked "Make it soft I mean."

"Just relaxing it." he said. "This is rather a dangerous game."

"Ah, just one last slide, it's not like it's a lake," said one teen, setting off not looking where he was going.

"Look out, you'll crash into that tank!" she cried.

It flickered. It was not a tank, but a jeep, then it transformed into a green robot and caught him too.

"Hound!" he said, recognising the one who had given them rides in the party.

"I made myself look like a tank with a hologram." he said. "There are tanks round here and other things it's dangerous to crash into."

"That's all right, now I know," said the guy.

"We could possibly find you a safer place to slide." said the 'bots.

Mikaela went back into the hangar and closed the door. She could see through a crack.


	12. Chapter 12 The Ice Rink

Chapter12 The Ice Rink.

Others were coming out in response to the screaming and cheering.

She recognised Ratchet rushing up in his ambulance form. Several over-energised Autobots were coming out of the party, leaning on each others' arms or otherwise holding onto each other, giggling, blinking bleary optics, one going over with a horrifying metallic crash, oh no that was Ironhide!

She heard her own scream and then seized up with horror as she heard a familiar voice thrilled with the excitement she had felt earlier.

"Hey, a slide, let me show you some cool moves!" said Jazz, his cyan optics widening with wicked glee. Maybe it would be all right, she crossed her fingers.

It was cool at first, like surfing, but he was still too heavy, the ground was too slippery and he was heading straight for the hangar at the end here!

She heard and saw something she'd only seen and heard once before - the transform-overhead protective cartwheel, but without Ironhide, she recognised the blurred forms of Optimus and Ratchet. It was like throwing stars going overhead in slow motion, but one star went faster and landed at her end first. It was the black and white police car one - Prowl. She heard Ratchet saying "Oh no!" as he transformed and noticed that Jazz hadn't managed to tuck himself in as he usually might for a somersault and was sliding on one shoulder, which was O.K. for break dancing but here made a nasty crashing screech that sounded painful.

Then just before he hit the door before her with a resounding thud, another form shimmered into view. It was the one that had been the blue and white F1 racing car at the party, Mirage.

She watched from behind their line as the tangle of arms, legs and wheels sorted themselves out in front of her through the crack in the door. Prowl had caught Jazz's head end, being just a bit bigger, Mirage had caught his feet and Optimus and Ratchet had caught his body between them, hand behind hand to cushion the others.

Optimus was the first to find his voice:

"Jazz, you are confined to base for 3 days for setting a bad example to the young! You don't slide on the ice when you're overenergized!

"You might have crashed into someone else or off-lined so badly I don't know whether I could have got you back this time!" growled Ratchet, treating his injured shoulder deftly with a sling made of an army blanket.

"Yeah but you got me, didn't you? With four of you walling a packed touchline to catch me, how's a little Quarter-back like me supposed to score?"

"Where did you come from Mirage?" Ratchet continued.

"Cybertron, like you!"

"Cut the wisecracks! I mean what were you doing there?"

"My job! I was told to check the perimeter, someone has to do guard duty, and I saw this hangar out on the edge with a signal-"

"Hold it! You're spoiling my surprise!" She was sure he winked at her through the door. "Ok, carry on, I have to check on Ironhide."

"We were trying to think of a safe place for a slide," said Hound.

"Yes, with soft things to land on and hold on rails," said Cliffjumper.

"Sounds like the Gym," said Captain Lennox coming up with Tech. Sergeant Epps in an ordinary army jeep.

"And didn't someone have an ice gun?" asked one of the sliding boys who was a fan.

"That would be Jazz." said Optimus.

"You gonna transform the Gym into an ice-rink?" said Epps. "This I gotta see! This I gotta take part in!"

"Black ice is treacherous" said Will looking at the slide on the ground.

"Not all black things are treacherous," said Optimus, mainly thinking of Ironhide.

" It's a good colour for combat, melts into the night like grey. I guess it don't matter what colour you are, black, white, silver, yellow, brown, pink, purple, copper, green,gold, red, or blue." said Jazz, looking up at Optimus,then up at the constellations, but he couldn't find any exactly like the ones he'd seen from Cybertron.

"And I guess one day it won't matter what badge you bear on your chest, or anywhere else, or what colour optics you have: one day, when we are all one, when all respect individual freedom despite or even rejoicing in differences, there might be peace. Universally." said Optimus.

"Till then, we'll have to keep on rocking and rolling out." said Jazz.

"Let's make this Ice Rink."


	13. Chapter 13 Special Mission

Chapter 13 Special Mission.

Mikaela turned back to Arcee in the hangar, and said: "So you were with Bumblebee at his last battle on Cybertron? Tell me about it."

"Yes it was at Tyger Pax, he lost his voice, and an arm, to Megatron and Swindle the Torturer. I better start at the beginning: Megatron wanted the All Spark to take over the universe, Bumblebee heard and kept standing up to him though he strung us all up, I was trying to get free, he told Optimus and we gave them a wrong location: the only thing that saved us was the All Spark launching off -"

"Oh no!"

Mikaela sank down and let the words make pictures in her mind in the dark hangar.

A small band of silvery robots, with blue frightened eyes - well, not frightened entirely, like Captain Lennox's patrol before Scorponok's attack she imagined, more apprehensive about a big enemy, guarding something precious like the camera, no, Thermal Imaging device he'd told her it was called, she had held today. But for the little band at Tyger Pax there had been no helicopter coming. A helicopter could not have carried it or them then, perhaps Bumblebee had sang to it like he had in the hangar to make it shrink, to send it off through space under it's own steam, on some quiet secret wavelength. One soldier stepped out to answer to the bigger enemy, like Jazz had taken on Devastator and Megatron, though he probably only just came up to his knee. In both cases it meant something special connected with communication would make the battle won or lost for good or ill. She imagined Megatron's voice:

"You fools! You thought we had all fallen for your false signal of a moved All Spark, but I left the other Decepticons going for Optimus's patrol while I came here. And you have foiled me - but no-one will hear of it!" Metal crunches metal and the arm probably came off when her friend was thrown away like Jazz was and left for…

"Mikaela!"

A metallic female voice.

A hand touched her shoulder. Two blue optics, widened with anxiety, were level with her eyes.

"I sent out a distress call. The nearest Autobot will be here in minutes…"

"Huh?"

Mikaela looked bewildered, her thoughts still on the dark scene

in her mind.

"I sent: 'Young human female in distress' and gave the location."

"Oh no!" groaned Mikaela, closing her eyes again, "The whole base will know!"

"I did wrong? Trust me - no Decepticon knows!"

Arcee did not seem to have a cannon, just a crossbow, but this was already loaded with a bolt and she swung it about at the ready.

The nearest Autobot - Ratchet surely - he would understand.

But no, it was voice she had dreamed was lost.

"Mikaela?" She raised her hands.

His face, silvery dark and yellow with 2 points of blue light, distressed and searching questioningly, was swimming before hers now.

Bumblebee.

He understood as well however - Teen radar worked.

"She's horrified - what have you been saying Arcee?"

"I just told her about our last battle together…at Tyger Pax."

"That would do it! Arcee, you shouldn't have, we're friends, humans have very vivid mental holograms."

"Oh no!" Arcee said. "I'm sorry, Bumblebee, Mikaela."

"It's all right, Mikaela, I'm O. K. now."

He stretched out both arms, down on his knees before her. Arcee crouched, an arm out supportively, the other holding her bow.

She looked from one to the other: "Arcee - thanks for getting him home!"

"It wasn't just me, we all searched, just Ratchet couldn't repair his vocal processing unit. I'm glad you got your voice back,

Bumblebee."

There was the sound of more running feet, human this time, and another voice outside: "Mikaela!" Another figure ran in and crouched down:

"Mikaela, what's up? We knew it was you!"

"Sam!"

She had to be upbeat. There was no point in being secret about the Mission now. Stroking a hand across her face under pretence of pulling back her hair, but really wiping it, she pointed up to her new friend who had stood up to her full nine feet to allow Sam access.

He looked all the way up at the slim purple female Autobot.

"Wow!"

She slapped at his arm with her nearest hand.

"Hey, I was only admiring her bodywork!"

"Look, but don't touch!"

"I wouldn't, she's…I'm not gonna…I," Sam squirmed in embarrassment.

"I'm causing trouble between you and your mate. Perhaps I should stay here."

"No please, we're cool, it's O. K." How could she fail Ratchet on her first Autobot mission? "This is an army base and you're a purple motorcycle - I mean you're the only girl. Let's strike a blow for girl power! You can come home, we'd love to have you at the garage where there's a T. V. set, or at my home if you want to come in as a hologram. Mom is fairly laid back, she thinks nothing worse can happen to us. A purple motorcycle that unfolds into a tall female crossbow-firing robot won't faze her. Christmas happened for us 10 times over when Dad's parole was granted and my juvie record was scratched out."

She turned a glowing grateful smile on Sam and he smiled back, nervously at first and then more confidently, knowing things were O. K. between them again.

"They're going to stay in a hotel for a days to catch up on where they were after he was put in jail, we can have some time to ourselves without the parents around too much, we can go to the Malt shop after Boxing Day, and after that Jazz'll be out and we can meet up with the others at the garage. It'll be a breeze, what with government compensation we should never have to fix

stolen cars again!"

"What just went down? Why the distress call?"

Sam wasn't buying it. She didn't normally sit on the ground and talk like this.

Bumblebee explained before she could brush it off.

"Arcee was being a little too graphic about our last battle and Mikaela got upset."

"Your last battle?"

"Together." Bumblebee waved at Arcee with a hand. "At Tyger Pax on Cybertron where I -" he stopped, realizing he was about to do what he'd just told Arcee not to, and he didn't want Sam upset too, so he shortened things - "had to occupy Megatron while the All spark launched into space."

That still gave Sam bad memories but he had to save Mikaela's face.

"Oh, that's all over now, you're fine, I'm fine, Megatron's dead, and as for the All spark we'll manage somehow, you could start a colony here called "New Cybertron." He stopped, realizing he was babbling on, and changed the subject for a brighter one.

"Hey, this means we've got 10 robots and several human couples for dancing, and they've flooded the Gym for the Ice rink!"

"I'm not gonna stop you skating, Sam, but I don't feel like it."

"O.K. I'll go once round, I'll be back in 5. Bumblebee'll be back in 3, you know how he hates ice!" Sam got up and turned to go.

He looked over at Bumblebee who nodded distantly but remained reluctantly as he was at their level. Arcee had come down too, and they exchanged looks. 'You go on, I'll look after her', Arcee databursted.

"Oh come on, you can do it too, just once round the rink!" He turned back.

"I'll help you, come on!" he grabbed her hands.

"_Oww!" _she flinched back, her eyes widening then closing in pain.

She had thought one arm had been aching in sympathy with Bumblebee in the battle story but this was reality. Her right hand didn't like being grabbed. She' d landed on it. It felt like fire.

"Oh, I was sliding on the ice earlier, I must've pulled it."

"She _is_ hurt, I thought my sensors could not be deceiving me!" said Arcee.

Sam went silent and stern as he had after their first battle together with Barricade. She was pale and sweating like then, but cold.

"Here, come on Mikaela, show me both hands."

She stretched them out to him and moved them slightly.

"I can still move my fingers."

"Like that?" Sam demonstrated typing.

It was difficult. The left hand letters a s d f were O. K., the right hand ones h j k l weren't.

"And that?" he held out his hands flat and then turned them over, reaching out one held up for a "high five" greeting.

The turning was hard, the greeting impossible. The higher the hand went up to ninety degree angle, the worse the pain became.

Bumblebee transformed and played the M.A. S. H. tune.

"Through early morning light I see….Suicide is painless."

"Huh…What?" said Sam

"Help is on its way."

Brakes squealed up outside. It was not two unknown medics she had to face however. Will Lennox and Sgt Epps came into the hangar, the first carrying a green case with a familiar white cross on it, the second carrying 2 little devices.

"Rapid Response team here," Will said.

"You do First Aid?" said Mikaela.

"Hey, I'm a Captain, comes with the job."

"And you?" She looked at Epps.

"I'm path-finding. This here's a radio, only not a RadioShack dinosaur one like we had in the battle, a modern one, and this is a locator." It was a bit like a satellite device but had circles for targeting and radar.

"The M. A. S. H. boys here are new and don't know the co-ordinates of this base. I do."

She looked at Arcee, who, realizing there was no need to, hadn't transformed. "You gave co-ordinates?"

"Isn't that what you usually do in distress calls?"

"Not always, but it would make the job easier for ambulances and helicopters finding you if you could." Epps said grinning ruefully.

Will reached out to take her wrist pulse, but she flinched back on Sam, who'd got round behind her now with his arms round her protectively to support her at the other men's approach. He felt her heart beating against him and she tried to rise but she couldn't, her legs felt like jello.

"No, stay cool, stay with me, " he said encouragingly, then to Will "She can't Hi-five." and demonstrated the movement himself.

"Show me." Will looked at her and she tried again. "Fractured wrist." he diagnosed, popping open the First Aid kit he carried and breaking out a triangular bandage from a sterile dressing pack in it.

"Put it on your opposite shoulder, I'll strap it up for you and you can go to Sick bay with these guys - with more squeals of brakes two more men had entered with red crosses on their hard hats - "and get plastered. Figuratively speaking that is. This here's Ted and Mike, two of our new friends. Casualty here boys." He shone a torch.

They started checking her over, asking her name and being gentle and polite, one with a stethoscope and one with a wrist device which he explained was to measure blood pressure. She offered her uninjured wrist and he strapped it on. "Yours is high." he said after checking it. Another guy came in similarly dressed bearing a clear plastic cup of water.

"Who's he?"

"He's mine!" Lights flashed and a familiar siren sounded.

"Ratchet!" Relief washed over her and showed in her eyes.

"Correct!" came from outside. Ted and Mike's eyes went wide then O.K. again.

"I knew you'd be back, where've you been?" she called.

"Prioritizing. Ironhide's O. K., a bit of cannon popped but it'll self-repair. Jazz will too and the other boy who took a tumble's getting similar treatment to you."

Drink your medicine - you're dehydrated."

"I'm at a _party_ and I'm dehydrated?"

"Yes. You haven't had a drink for an hour and the party food-especially turkey sandwiches - is drying. And you're in shock."

She looked at Ted and Mike and they nodded. "He can scan through walls?" asked Mike, the dusky hued one with the blood pressure checker.

"Yes," said Bumblebee, "he reels up Life-signs."

"It 's perfectly formulated to your needs. You're in safe hands. Do I have to get him to put it in with a needle?"

"No, I'm on it."

She drank the little cup down.

"Don't leave without dropping in and saying goodbye."

A loud electric guitar noise sounded from the other hangar.

"Oh no, that's Jazz again!" said Ratchet.

"You can tell?"

"Yes, believe me that's his style. I have to make sure they don't plug it in near the water. Water and electricity don't mix."

"Won't he know?"

But with a last siren wail, the lights were gone.

"That guy needs a chill-pill."

"You're not going home alone are you?" said Ted who was senior in rank to Mike and whose red-blond curls peered out from under his hat. They'd got out plaster bandages now and were wetting them in a bowl, after splinting the hand and elastic bandaging the wrist.

"No way!" she smiled at Sam.

"No, she's with me!"

She realized as soon as the second 2 men had come in Arcee had disappeared. There was a bike and a middle-aged biker chick in a red leather jacket with a pink helmet and coveralls. She winked.

"This is my- aunt. She's come to get me" said Mikaela.

"She won't be home alone over Christmas, I'll make sure of that."

Arcee was doing a very good reproduction of a human voice with the hologram, it even sounded a bit like hers, she wished that was her Mom.

"O K. then, you can walk?"

This time, with help, Mikaela found she could.

"Jazz'll need more than just the Malt shop café to chill down when he comes round after 3 days with that guy after him, she said, still thinking of Ratchet.

"Ratchet's O.K. He just - cares. We'll show him around town" said Arcee smiling.

"You could get in anywhere around town looking like that. Really, Aunt Arcee." said Mikaela.

Ted and Mike took her to a waiting Army Ambulance truck as it was cold.

Then the hologram changed to a male biker in black leathers.

"Or like this?" The voice changed but quietly. Sam was slightly disappointed but Mikaela chuckled.

"That too, to different dives."

"Arcee's short for Rachel Clare" She explained to keep the men's attention as the biker mounted the bike, but flickered back to the female one just in case they looked in their wing mirrors.

Sam was now in Bumblebee and waved wistfully, Bumblebee sounded his horn. Mikaela remembered something. "Can I go home with Sam please?"

"Yeah go on, you're O.K. now."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Going home in Bumblebee

Mikaela took out the thing Ratchet had given her and waved it over Sam's head enticingly, her lips puckered up, her eyes wide and inviting. It was two green plastic leaves and two white berries.

"Mistletoe!" said Sam seeing it in Bumblebee's headlights.

"I said 'Big present tonight!' Bumblebee, can we go home in your back seat?"

" I don't see why not, I drive after all."

"Cancel the ice rink and the dancing, snogging's better," said Sam.

The car doors opened. They scrambled past the front seats into the back and started kissing.

But Bumblebee didn't start up.

"Bee, can you take us home?" said Sam, coming up for air.

"Aren't you going to put your seatbelts on?"

As he had scanned a 2008 Camaro, Bumblebee now had seatbelts at the back and front.

"I think it would spoil it" said Sam, hoping this would not be necessary.

"Then I cannot be responsible for your safety."

"Oh come on," said Mikaela "you're a kickass driver!"

"And couldn't you make the seats mould round us or something?" said Sam.

"I could, and I _am_ a good driver, but I cannot guarantee even _this _night that some idiot or _idiots _will not cause a pile-up on the freeway! You'd at least hit the backs of my seats. At worst you could g-go through my windscreen. I think the air-bags would spoil it even more."

"I get the picture. Can we just do the lap-thing in the passenger seat then?"

"O. K. You can do anything on my back seat when I'm parked Sam, or even on the roof or the hood."

"O.K. just give us 10 minutes to finish."

It took a bit less in fact, more like 2.

"I know in theory we're only in the back of a car, but I can't get rid of the feeling that somebody's watching" said Mikaela. "I'll go on your lap, Sam, that was a bright idea."

"Oh well, as Mistletoe kisses go, that one was pretty decent," said Sam as they got in the front again.

A louder deeper voice came.

"Sam, Mikaela, are you O. K.?"

"Oh shit! Optimus!" said Sam.

The red and blue flame-painted semi-truck came into view.

"You're getting star treatment, you're with me, I'm mopping up stray 'bots and humans tonight!"

"I'm cool, Optimus, I'm in here!" sang out Mikaela, looking out from Bumblebee's front window.

"Then you've got an escort. I hear you have medical instructions from Ratchet."

"What, just to see him before I go home to say goodbye? I thought that was just a formality."

"When Ratchet invites you into his Med-bay, it's never just a formality. He usually swears and throws you out of it. He wants to make sure you're O. K., it's a follow-up check."

"Oh no, does he want to check on me too?" said Sam, whispering quietly to Mikaela "D'you think he can tell we've been kissing by that pheromone thing?"

"I will see you at the party afterwards, Sam," said Optimus. "Don't be embarrassed about seeing Ratchet, he wouldn't want to unnerve you. He only wants to check up on you. And Bumblebee."

"Oh, that's O. K. then, have to make sure you're up to speed, buddy," said Sam remembering that morning and rubbing Bumblebee's dash. Bumblebee purred in response to the touch.

An army jeep drew up beside them.

"Will? Mr Epps? Do you want to come in with me?" said Optimus.

"O.K., we can park this Jeep here. I'll leave the key with Ratchet, someone can pick it up in the morning. I want to go in anyway and see Ironhide, we wouldn't turn down a lift if you're offering, Optimus, would we Epps?" He turned and took out the key.

"Nosiree, I bin drivin', n' doin' stuff all day," said Epps.

The big red and blue truck doors opened and they got in.

"Arcee?"

"Here sir!" The motorcycle roared with a kick-start as she started up.

"Welcome to Earth! Bumblebee?"

"Coming!" Bumblebee's engine roared too, as he came up.

"I expect to see you on the dance floor with Arcee tonight!"

"Oh…yes, Roger. Aw shucks do I have to?"

"We'll all be there. We must welcome our guests properly. I'm briefing you for the Time Warp at 24.00 hours!"

"The Time Warp?" said Bumblebee doubtfully, remembering earlier chrono-transferences where they'd had to cope with less technology and totally different earlier worlds.

"That, I'm reliably informed by the D. J., is the last dance. They will be playing it at Midnight, which is not that far off from now. Rollout!"

The little convoy moved off towards the other hangar.

"Don't worry, Bumblebee," Arcee chuckled over the radio, "I've looked up that dance on the World Wide Web. It's not difficult, it's like drill, you just have to turn left and step right and do things when the words say so. I'll help you!"

"O. K., right." said Bumblebee

"Optimus, don't you ever go off duty?" asked Sam over the radio.

Optimus chuckled. " Ratchet and I have this little agreement.If he finds I'm due for a recharge he tells me or offlines me. If he gets too tired to notice, I can do it to him."

The two human officers took it as applying to them too. Will scratched his head.

"I'm off duty from about now till 07.00 tomorrow morning if I'm lucky with Annabelle. She's settled now but she hardly ever sleeps the night through."

"I'll be up till about 02.00 a.m. clearing up. My family're here too. We're stayin' overnight. 'S our responsibility, the party."

"Don't you want to dress for the party, Will?" asked Mikaela, for they were still in battledress.

"We've showered and changed since this morning, but we're comfortable like this, just as SecDef Keller is comfortable in his suit,

said Will. "Possibly if you come down to the farm next year you'll see me in civvies, but I dunno..."

"Ratchet and I will be staying till morning as well, possibly a bit after that, but you have a curfew, Sam, and for all those that do, the U. S. Air Force has offered us a lift home in a Chinook." said Optimus.

"A Chinook? - Really?" said Sam.

"Big mother-fuckin helicopter" Will said by way of explanation."Name comes from a Native American word meaning "warm wind."Like the one tonight!" he added wryly in fun.

"This is a cold winter wind, ripe for a blizzard," said Epps who had been raised in California and was sitting on the side near Optimus's open truck window. "This is no Chinook!"

"Is it big like Blackout?" asked Sam.

"No, bigger than that. It's not-it's not him is it?" Will tapped Optimus on the dash. It was irrational, but Jazz had come back.

"No Decepticon activity has been spotted since 12.00 hours."

"Yes!" He tried to thump the air, but ended up thumping Optimus' cab roof. "Didn't think that mother-fucker could come back from mag-smithereens! But a Chinook - if those babies stood on end they'd be bigger'n you Optimus. Sorry about the roof."

"It is O. K. Will, my sentiments exactly." said Optimus.

Epps crossed his fingers and got Will to cross his, checking his locator.

"They seem to have disappeared off the face of the Earth. The odd camel has disappeared in Qatar."

Will cranked up one finger to flip the bird.

"Hope they choke the bug-eyed creep! Camel's horrible anyway, milk's just about O. K., but don't eat the liver unless you have to to be polite."

"Yes, guess we could all do with some shuteye." said Epps.

"For the moment, I'm just really looking forward to that dance" said Sam, his eyes alight and his voice happy with expectation.

"Don't laugh at me" said Bumblebee, stopping at the hangar door.

"I'm not gonna laugh, big guy, hey man, Mikaela'n I'll be there, we weren' t expecting to be hoofing it tonight, and as for party action dances, we can all make fools of ourselves together."

Mikaela smiled too. "I bet they do a last slow smoochie one too. You don't have to stay on the dance floor for that one Bumblebee. You can still check out the Ice Rink if you want, just leave me at the Med Bay, and collect me in fifteen minutes."

The doors opened, they got out, he transformed and put down a hand for them to climb up on. A similar thing happened with Will and Epps. The robots put the humans up by their chests to keep warm as they went in, and then lowered them slightly for comfort.

Optimus took Epps to the Gym and Will to the Medbay..

Bumblebee did as Mikaela had asked, but Sam, as he'd suspected found it was no fun without Mikaela. The ice rink was full of big guys whizzing round as fast as they could go or twirling girls who made him feel embarrassed. He went once round with a line of beginners and then came off as it was being shut down anyway. He went to check out the dance hall instead.

Jazz was the D. J. though they'd started off with a human with some C. D.s, he could play straight off his computer onto a big screen. Prowl was helping him.

"Prowl, sound your siren" he said

"But it's not an emergency!"

"No but it'll sound good for this record!"

"Oh, all right!"

"O. K. everybody, time to get real, git your asses onto the dance floor!"


	15. Chapter 15

-1Chapter 15 Ratchet's Med-bay.

"Ratchet?" asked Mikaela loudly, looking into the Med-bay.

"Yes?" he said grumpily sliding out from under Ironhide on a wheeled trolley.

She extended her newly plastered wrist.

"It's repairing itself." he said.

She nodded. "Still hurts though."

His blue optics widened with emotion. He really was pleased to see her.

"I think I can do something for that. Come in."

She followed him into the Med-bay.

When he could really make a difference and alleviate suffering, when he was not being asked to do endless repairs for 'bots who took what he thought were unnecessary risks, when he was not endlessly rushed off his feet/wheels to situations where he could do nothing, e.g. losing someone, or someone needing a part he simply did not have, Ratchet enjoyed his work.

He preferred healing to "paperwork" - human army repairs and hospital/First Aid work seemed to involve several hours on a computer/printer outlet running off forms and invoices in triplicate - and even his previous work as a negotiator in the "Council of Ancients." He only needed his limbs, tools and processors: humans needed a lot of hardcopy evidence.

There were all sorts of tools provided here and a Transformer-sized

(10 ft high) operating table so he could work on the under-chassis of anyone in vehicle form, with sliding sections. Also up to Ratchet's size there were Recharging chambers with a clear plastic lid and dial. Mikaela could see in one of the smaller ones Cliffjumper's gleaming red metal butt. One had the All Spark energy chamber attached to it and a small generator. There were also some rest pallets with Jump leads near them and some normal army/hospital style human beds.

He ran an instrument over her wrist and it felt cool then warm.

"It's a bone-knitter. I worked it out from our technology and your biology: it should help your healing process in a similar way to how we regenerate."

"Thanks. Couldn't you give it to us?"

"It's not your technology yet."

"We're relying on Megatron's anyway according to Simmons. Thirty years ago, Tricorders existed only in Star Trek. Now, they're in hospitals."

"What do they look like?"

"Like big grey cell phones with little screens and plastic probes to go in your ear. But they still record three things: temperature, blood pressure, and breathing rate."

"Hmm - perhaps I could take it to a human sick bay or Hospital." Ratchet said.

"Think of the suffering you'd save."

"And just leave it there? I guess it'd take you 10 years to patent it anyway."

"It might not take that long _here." _

"I'll leave a little dedication on it to our own Ice man, our Ice Cool Jazz."

"Hang on, let me help."

Mikaela was trying to put her plastered arm back in the sling, a very difficult thing, and re-tie it on the opposite shoulder. He helped with his anti-tremble finger as she sat on his leg.

"You in there Mikaela?" came a voice from the door.

"Yeah," she managed to say, involved in the complicated manoeuvre.

"Ah, Sam Witwicky, just the man we need at the moment!" Ratchet quipped.

Sam worked out how to come in through the big door with Bumblebee's help and was happy to help adjust the sling under instruction.

"The Ice man, d'you remember Sam, what came up when I accidentally got into Google co.uk on that one - not your great-great grandfather and Megatron definitely."

"Yeah it was gross!"

Sam's brows narrowed as he remembered. "British wasn't he?"

"I think I remember too."

Ratchet started up a nearby computer to show them. He didn't need to use a keyboard, just sent a databurst down a wavelength. It brought up Google, then underlined an entry.

" 'The Iceman - In the 16th century the Thames(a river in London, England) froze over and Ice fairs were held on it by the Watermen. Someone fell through a thinner patch and was immediately frozen to death just below the surface. For the next 3 weeks people were charged a small sum of money to look down at him.'"

"Yeah yuck!" said Mikaela wrinkling her pretty nose and screwing up her eyes in disgust.

"As I said, gross!" said Sam doing the same but smiling slightly in the teen stage grim delight at horrific views.

"Your great-great grandpa or Megatron?" teased Mikaela.

Sam thumped her playfully on her O.K. shoulder. "My great-great grandpa didn't have more head-spikes than Sonic the Hedgehog, or worse teeth than Jaws!"

"Yeah I saw the newspaper clipping he looked a bit like Santa with less beard and the glasses. Your grandpa that is"

"That's because Santa is supposed to live at the North Pole and you'd _need _to be wrapped up like that up there." Sam turned back to the monitor screen.

"There was one in the Italian Alps too." He tapped the keyboard and brought up a picture of a corpse that was over a millennia old. Mikaela gasped, retched and swallowed.

"Stop this thread, it's affecting your health!" said Ratchet sending the picture away with a databurst. "On a slightly lighter note, someone from there came over here and survived illness to write one of your most famous holiday songs for this time of year. Beginning with H - the song that is, and including something Bumblebee mentioned to you at first and possibly was dressed up as when he came to me earlier. Google that if you want to."

They did, but Sam guessed first "You mean that visitors from Heaven thing?"

"Herald Angels?" said Mikaela "Oh we did some really good filk versions to that at school because not everyone can reach the high notes and it sounds really wicked if you send it up."

"Bumblebee has some presents for you from us - hardcopy about ours and the Decepticons' vehicular forms and some games and surprises too!" Ratchet said.

Bumblebee came in from a store room at the back of the Med-bay with a stack of Haynes vehicle manuals and books including Transformers Annuals and other boxes of various shapes. This in itself surprised them: they had not seen the little scout go out.

"Will sent candy. He said he had to keep a bit back for Mahfouz in case they have to do more than compensate for camels. He's probably going back to demonstrate the new weapons to the locals in Qatar next year. Those in the village Scorponok attacked have rebuilt it - the least we can do is offer them rocket launchers just in case." Ratchet said. He let them sit on his legs and Bumblebee and Sam helped Mikaela unwrap her presents as she only had one usable hand.

"Books, that's really great of you!"

"What would you want as a present Ratchet?" Mikaela asked with interest.

"Me? World Peace. Universal Peace if such a thing were possible. And goodwill between all sentient beings. Save me a lot of work that would. Probably too much to hope for. Just to see you and everyone dancing, happy and alive at the party will be enough for me."

"Oh well, we can give you that easily. You coming?" Sam said.

"In two minutes." The screen changed on the monitor. Forms filed by, getting checked off. "Traffic's slowed now. They supply all I

need here. Well, nearly anything. The Warrant Officer probably knows my data signature. Something arrived by mistake yesterday though. Could you use it? I have enough tools of my own."

He pointed to a Ratchet (or Socket) spanner set, in it's black box, 24 different sizes and heads.

"Dad could," said Mikaela, picking it up.

"I know one thing I definitely don't want for next Christmas," said Sam, and that's a Porsche. I already have my dream car, my dream girl, my uh sparkplug…" He foundered, stroking her arm.

"Don't come with the pet names, Sam, you can't do it. Leave that to Tight Abs Trent!" Although it sounded like a compliment, she said this last with scorn.

"I thought we agreed not to mention his name! How about tight a little further down on the other side?"

She worked it out and giggled. "He was that sometimes too! I like us being real with each other, _Ladies man 217."_

"Hey, how come you can do it and not me?"

"Because _I _can carry it off!"

"Being real. All the time? No more…"

"No more 'More than meets the eye'?" She replied craftily.

"We gotta have some secrets, sometimes, surely."

"Only if it doesn't hurt anyone."

"Can I call you my girlfriend when I go back to High school next quarter?"

"We haven't even had our second date yet."

"How about Deano's Malt shop in the Mall on the day after Boxing Day?"

"That's a date O.K.?"

"Two dozen Decepticons couldn't keep me away!"

"I hope _that many_ don't turn up. That _would _spoil the ticker tape parade in New York!"

"Hey, I asked for New Year's Day too in the ceasefire!"

"Yes, well let's hope they keep to it!" said Ratchet, shutting down the computer. "If Optimus wants 10 couples of Robots and at least 2 of humans at this dance for Christmas let's give him his wish shall we?"

"One moment Sam. You're getting dehydrated too."

He pointed at a battered human-sized metal container. "It's only H20. Go on."

Sam grabbed the drink and slurped it down.

"Hey, could you bring some of this round to my place? And some concrete, bricks, slabs, boards and glass or something? You see, we had a fight with Barricade this morning and I don't know if I can get anyone out for Boxing day. It's not just the yard this time, it's the house he hit."

"I'll see who'll volunteer for battle damage repair to your house and yard tomorrow morning. Although your Dad has probably already contacted a 24/7/365 Emergency builder - could you check up on that? If people knew the army would come out for repairs every time a house got hit by a police car they'd be overrun with claims."

"Thanks Ratchet, I will!" Sam got out his cell-phone and called his

Dad, walking round the Med-bay chatting to get the best signal.

"Yep, someone's coming round to shore us up between 8 and midday tomorrow."

"I'm volunteering to come and check on that!" said Ironhide, getting up and coming over. "I used to build bridges before the war on Cybertron and I know what human builders are sometimes like! It'll be nice to come and see you Sam for something other than a battle- Will says he'll be watching sport or sleeping so that leaves me free!"

"Thanks Ironhide you're a star!" said Sam, realising Ratchet must have left him to wake up in his own time.

"I better go and join Will and take him and Sarah in , there might be a little last minute crisis with Annabelle." He left.

"You may as well arrive in style, it'll save your strength for dancing.

And as my Med-bay is kept at a cooler temperature than usual for humans to avoid overheating, you'll need a hot drink at the party, and we'll need to go now. Get back, both of you. Transform and Rollout!"

He transformed and so did Bumblebee. Bumblebee's doors opened and they got in.

"I've found out this dance is mainly done at conventions" said Bumblebee.

"It sounds a bit cheesy. Will they be doing anything else?" said Sam.

"I'm sure the D. J., that's Jazz, will cater for all tastes." said Bumblebee.

They went out of one hangar and into the other for the dance and the final party. Looking at Ratchet, they remembered Arcee and the fact that this Christmas holiday was going to be different and the most fun one they'd ever had.


	16. Chapter 16

-1Epilogue

Meanwhile in the next solar system, Starscream lay on a lounger by a pool of golden oil, being served pink drinks by a small red flier.

Barricade was being massaged by a dark blue mech, Payload, as he read a Transformers' magazine.

"Ah, 'Botcon 2008'!" he said "Looks like a great party to crash!"

Behind them a large purple-blue 'bot, Soundwave, and a silvery brown Medic, Dr Syn, worked on Frenzy.

"SOUNDS-LIKE-FUN!" the first intoned.

"I'LL-BRING-MY-SOUND-SYSTEM!"

Starscream swirled his cube around so it marbled and bubbled, then drank it down.

"Sleep well, little fleshlings and Autobots," he said "For next year, I will return for my _revenge_: _and it will not be pretty!__"_


End file.
